FILE - This publicity film image released by DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox shows Daniel Day-Lewis portraying Abraham Lincoln in the film "Lincoln." From the campaign of Lincoln, the Steven Spielberg-directed film backed by The Walt Disney Co., critics say they've received no less than four coffee table books, an intricately framed DVD for review purposes and even a hand-signed letter from Spielberg himself, thanking them for recognizing the film with so many nominations. (AP Photo/DreamWorks, Twentieth Century Fox, David James, file)

FILE - This publicity film image released by DreamWorks and...

FILE -This film image released by The Weinstein Company shows Jennifer Lawrence, left, and Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook." The Weinstein Company's film is earning boffo business above $100 million in ticket sales following co-chairman Harvey Weinstein's familiar script of making the most of awards season. The 85th Academy Awards air live on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, on ABC. (AP Photo/The Weinstein Company, JoJo Whilden, File)

LOS ANGELES — Giant coffee table books, iPod Shuffles, signed letters from directors, even "Lincoln" turkey roasting pans. That's just some of the largesse doled out by the studios to voters for awards presented earlier this season — each with the potential to influence the outcome of Hollywood's most important awards, the Oscars.

Such gifts are strictly forbidden by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But for studios, the stakes are high, and they've been creative in working around the rules to give their movies the best spotlight possible. A best picture win can boost a film's commercial appeal and solidify relations with big-name actors and directors.

This year, top Oscar contenders "Argo" from Warner Bros. and "Lincoln" from Disney pitted two deep-pocketed rivals against each other in what some say was an unprecedented level of Oscar campaigning.

Part of what's behind the unrestrained lobbying is that this year, an unusually large number of best picture nominees are also doing well at the box office, giving the studios dry powder for their campaigns.

Six of the nine contenders for the top Oscar have reaped $100 million or more in ticket sales domestically, and collectively they've earned $309 million since the nominations Jan. 10, according to Hollywood.com. This record-setting "Oscar bump" dwarfs the $111 million the nine best picture nominees made between the nominations and the awards ceremony last year.

That means there's plenty of reason for studios to keep spending — even to the extent of papering the walls of the popular Beverly Hills restaurant Kate Mantilini with campaign posters.

Hammond is one of several voters for the earlier awards where wins translate into momentum for Oscar hopefuls. They say their mailboxes were swamped with swag this year — all of it an attempt to reach the 5,800 academy members who vote on the Oscars, albeit through indirect means.